With the progress of the times, a computer is one of the most popular electronic devices used in life. Currently, a keyboard is one of the indispensable input devices during the computer operation. The keyboard is derived from the typewriter and mainly functions as data input. The keyboard could be employed to input characters, symbols or numbers and, moreover, control the computer operation.
In order to allow users with different requirements to use the keyboard in the simplest way, the design of the keyboard is getting more and more diversified. According to the switch design, the current keyboards could be classified into a mechanical keyboard, a membrane keyboard, a conductive rubber keyboard, and a capacitive keyboard, and the like. While according to the printing manner, the present keyboards could also be classified into blank (with no inscriptions on the keys of the keyboard), ink printing, laser printing, two-color molding, and dye-sublimation printing, and the like.
In addition to the basic input function, the keyboard with visual effects may often attract one's attention. For instance, the commercially available illuminated keyboards are not only attractive but also more useful in the places with insufficient lighting. Hence, the illuminated keyboards are more competitive in the market.
As prior art, the illuminated keyboard includes a plurality of transparent keys and an illumination module (e.g. backlight module) which are both disposed on a cover, in which the illumination module is configured under the plurality of the keys. Therefore, light emitted by the illumination module will pass through the keys, thus allowing the user to see the characters of the keys clearly even in the dark or places with insufficient lighting.
However, the light of the illumination module passes through not only the keys but also a gap between the adjacent keys (light leakage), making it difficult to recognize the characters of the keys. Particularly, the gap between the adjacent keys will become brighter in contrast with the dark or insufficient lighting surrounding, which makes the problem more serious.
Furthermore, in prior art, light emitted by the illumination module is generally guided to the keys by a light guide device; however, the brightness is insufficient for the keys farther away from the illumination module. The brightness non-uniformity of the keys will cause difficulty in recognizing the characters on the keys of the illuminated keyboard.